We Can Rebuild Her……..we think

Favorite Things

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite thing”

Thank you Julie Andrews and Disney for getting this song from The Sound of Music stuck in my head

It’s funny how as you get older somehow you end up sounding exactly like you swore you’d never sound when you were a kid. Remember how when you were little you’d hear older people saying things like “When I was your age”…..and you swore up and down you were never, EVER going to say that when you got older. Hahahahaha we were so naive! Because you and I both know we’ve used that phrase not once…not twice….but several times. BECAUSE IT’S TRUE! There is always some way for one generation to compare themselves to the generation coming up behind them, and the one after that. The Baby Boomers and Generation X (1950s to late 1970s) had the 60’s, Women’s Rights Revolution, Civil Rights, The Moon Landing, the greatest music ever created and the beginning of technological advances. Generation Y (1980s to 2000) had the Reagan Era, Sally Ride, Nintendo, the second best period of music, and the best cartoons (Thundercats Ho! and who was more outrageous than Jem).

When I was a kid I constantly heard Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers talking about how they didn’t have the crazy things kids my age had. VCRs, tape decks and the coolest thing of all at that time Nintendo. “When I was your age we didn’t have fancy toys like you do. We played stickball and walked 5 miles to school, uphill both ways.” You wave it off and think What do these old people know.” Then you get older and you look at the things kids have access to now and you think “When I was your age we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, iPods, iPads, Xbox Kinect or Wiis.” Damn I feel old saying that. But you get nostalgic about the good old days and reminisce about the great things you had, and appreciate the things you have now. So I wanted to make a short list of My Favorite Things: Then and Now.To keep this from getting ridiculously out of hand I’ll do a top 3 for each section. Gadgets/Toys, Movies, TV Shows and Songs. And I’d love to hear from you what your favorite things are. So here goes……

GADGETS/TOYS THEN:

Easy Bake Oven

I was completely in awe of the fact that I could make my own tiny little cakes. Nevermind the fact that you were using a lightbulb to heat these things up. And the fact that they didn’t taste the greatest either. None of that matter because I thought I was the best chef in the world. My mom was nice enough to smile and choke down those awful things while managing to make me think I was doing a good job. Stomaching your child’s awful attempts at baking….that’s unconditional love right there.

Snoopy Sno Cone Machine

So let me get this straight…..if I want a sno cone and it’s the middle of winter I can just make it myself. The Ice Cream Man only came around during spring and summer. So if I really wanted a sno cone and mom was too busy to go to the store, I could just make it myself. SWEEETTT!

Cabbage Patch Doll

Before there was a Tickle Me Elmo craze there was the Cabbage Patch Doll. When I look at them now I can’t understand why in the hell we wanted them so bad because those things are far from cute. But when they came out every little girl asked Santa to put one under the tree for her. And I was no exception.

GADGETS NOW:

HTC HD7 Windows Phone

Most people know that my favorite color is pink. So when I got this phone one of the two things that sold me on it was the fact that I could make the tiles on my home screen pink. AWESOME! I also like that I can move said tiles around and place them however it suites my needs. Having Microsoft Office on there helps too, I barely use it but it’s nice to have in case I get ideas for a paper while I’m traveling. Besides all the sweet apps it’s the personalization part I like the most.

Laptop

No need to be chained to a desk anymore now that I have a laptop. Plane, train, automobile….my laptop goes everywhere with me. Thanks to many places adding outlets in their locations a lot of places are becoming laptop friendly. But it’s convenient to be able to pick this thing up and pull it out whenever I need to do something. Instead of being forced to only work on things when I’m at home.

DVR

No more worrying about missing a show! Just set your DVR to record and away we go. Single shows, movies, TV series…whatever. If you want it you can store it on your DVR and watch as many times as your heart desires. Unlike when I was a teen and used to wait patiently with a blank VCR tape ready and my finger on the Record button. Now I don’t have to be in the room or even have that channel on. VCRs forced you to make sure your TV was set to the right channel. It sucked to remember after the fact that your show was on channel 10 not channel 6, because then…well you missed it.

MOVIES THEN:

E.T.

This was the first movie I saw so it holds a special place in my heart. I wasn’t even 1 years old yet when this movie was released so I think my mom waited until it came out on video. To this day every time E.T. gets sick I still cry like a baby.

The Princess Bride

“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” At the time I was still a big fan of wrestling so seeing Andre the Giant in that movie was a thrill for me. But on top of that it was sweet and hi-larious. One of my favorite movies because it wasn’t slapstick or over the top comedy.

Nightmare on Elm Street

No matter how old I get I’ll always be terrified of Freddy Krueger. Why? Because he’s the only horror monster you can’t run away from since he’s in your dreams. When I was finally old enough for my mom to let me watch it I ended up sleeping with the lights on for a while. That song those little girls sing still creeps me out.

MOVIES NOW:

Braveheart

For those of you who haven’t seen this movie I won’t be one of “those people” who spills the beans on how it ends. All I have to say is FREEDOMMMMM! That is love right there. Not just love between a man and a woman, but love for your country to go through all of that.

The Help

If you haven’t seen this movie yet you are seriously slacking. It’s not a chick flick, it’s an everyone flick. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. You really feel for what these ladies had to go through to make a living, and how hard it was to survive in the 60s. It makes you grateful that things aren’t the same as it was. We still have a ways to go, but I am so glad I didn’t have to live through the 60s.

Bridesmaids

Best. Comedy. EVER! I’ve loved Melissa McCarthy from back when she was on Gilmore Girls. But to see her hold her own in this movie was awesome. My face and sides were killing me from laughing so much. I had to remind myself to breathe while I was laughing so hard.

TV THEN:

The Cosby Show

So Bill Cosby and I have a connection. Not like a “hey I’ve met him or grew up near him” kind of connection…but a “you’re from my area” connection. We’re both from Philadelphia. So to see him portrayed as a successful doctor married to a successful lawyer was great. The fact that they didn’t come off as the perfect family was even better. It showed that no matter how much money you have, there are still issues in every household. So it was nice to see that.

Full House

Back when there was something called TGIF I looked forward to this show a lot. I could be in the other room and as soon as I heard the theme song I skidded into the living room. Have to admit I had a crush on John Stamos so that’s why I started watching. But it was kinda funny.

Tales From the Crypt

When this show first started I wasn’t allowed to stay up late enough to watch it. So I’d sneak down after my mom was asleep and keep the volume down just low enough for me to hear but not wake her up. I thought I was sooo slick. Yeah, mom caught on to my tricks. Eventually she caved and let me stay up to watch the show as long as there were no complaints about me getting up in the morning. So not only was it cool that I got to stay up late (Ooooooo), but the Cryptkeeper had this wicked sense of humor I picked up on. I think that’s when I realized I had a sick sense of humor and was beyond politically incorrect.

TV NOW:

NCIS

My grandfather and my boyfriend both served in the Navy, so when I heard about a show dedicated to Navy cops I just had to watch. And then I met Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the silver haired fox, and fell in love with him and his entire team.

The Walking Dead

Laugh all you want this is a how-to guide for surviving the zombie apocalypse. It’s also a really good show that manages to keep a great story going in the middle of fighting zombies.

Boardwalk Empire & Game of Thrones

If you haven’t seen either of these shows you should. I had a hard time picking between them because they’re both sooo good. But again, great storyline with the right amount of violence and naughtiness.

SONGS THEN:

Thriller by Michael Jackson

The first time I heard Vincent Price’s laugh I jumped up and stopped the record. Damn I miss listening to music on vinyl. That laugh creeped me out and would haunt my dreams. So for a while I would always get up and stop the song right before that point. Then the video came out and I eventually got over it and tried to do the zombie dance. I now blame my fascination with zombies on this song, it’s all MJ’s fault.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

Bubbly, fun. The right kind of song to put on when you wanted to be silly and dance around the room. Like any other 80’s girl I loved Madonna too, but I loved Cyndi Lauper more.

Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles

I loved the beat and the dance that went with this song. Another one of those fun songs that made you want to get up and dance.

SONGS NOW:

Won’t Back Down by Eminem

This is my anthem for when things feel like they’re piling on and the anxiety is trying to get the best of me. For those days when I’ve dealt with people’s bad attitudes and I’m completely fed up. This is that song that reminds me to keep going and pushing for what I want. Ignore the assholes and keep fighting. Never say quit.

Belief by John Mayer

I love the message behind this song. Just sit and listen to the song with the lyrics in front of you and it does make a lot of sense. John Mayer has a way with words.